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Camera Reviews

From Nikon DSLR to Nikon Z7

Connie Cassinetto (Via the Lens)


Keywords: postprocessing, z7, mirrorless, 24_120mm, 24_70mm, via_the_lens

I have several photographer friends who have switched from a standard dSLR to a mirrorless camera at some point during the last years.  Each time I would see their printed images I would think that the images were so much sharper than my dSLR cameras, even though I always carefully sharpen my images at the end of processing.  That alone, the perceived sharpness, made me want to try out a mirrorless camera with the lighter weight and smaller body being a second reason.  

Until recently, of course, I could not have purchased a quality mirrorless camera from Nikon so I continued to use my D800 and D500 as I did not want to use a different brand of camera.  However, when Nikon announced that one of their new mirrorless cameras would be available in October I immediately hit that order button at B&H as my Nikon D800 was fairly worn out and giving me problems.   I had hoped that the new Z7 mirrorless camera would arrive in time for me to try it out prior to my upcoming December trip to Cuba to learn street photography and it did.  In fact, I took possession of it in the second week of October, a day before a planned trip to see if I could get some fall color shots in the High Sierra mountain range.  It was a perfect opportunity to try out the new camera and I took the Z7 and the D500 with me, leaving the D800 at home.  Since then, I have shot several hundred images with the Z7 and the sharpness and color of my images amazes me.  

I ordered the Z7 with the f/4 24-70 lens as I did not have that lens and it seemed to be a good choice to round out my gear.  I also ordered the adapter to use the camera with my other Nikon lenses. Initially, when shooting with it, it felt odd: I’m so used to a much heavier, more “meaty” type camera and I felt and still feel like I’m carrying around a little point-and-shoot camera, although it is anything but that.  It is not only lighter but smaller and so much easier to handle than the larger dSLR cameras. To date, I’ve shot landscape scenes as well as a few shots of small animals and the camera has performed very well. 

Most recently I photographed some fall pumpkins with it and the color it produces is wonderful.  I also shot a bee on a bush using the 24-70 lens and then enlarged it in processing using Lightroom and the sharpness is still amazing. I have not yet used it on a tripod as I need to find out if Really Right Stuff has the connecter I need for my tripod, so everything has been hand-held to date.  I do have a tripod connecter from some other camera that fits the bottom, with no ability to turn the camera vertical, so I can use a tripod but it’s been so easy to shoot hand-held with it that I have not even tried that.  

01

Fall Color, Hwy. 395
Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70 mirrorless lens, 1/200 at f/8, ISO 400, shot at 70mm. It was the usual slightly windy day as I was looking for fall color shots off of Hwy. 395 in Northern California. This image shows how sharp the scene turned out and the inset gives you a closer view.
Click for an enlargement

 

01A

Fall Color Inset
A close up view of the tree leaves to see how sharp the image is, even with leaves moving in the wind.
Click for an enlargement

 

I have tried long-distance landscape shots, closeup shots, shots using the lens wide open and I’ve been happy with all of the shots, but maybe I’m made happy easier than some other people.  All of these shots seemed to work out well and the shots seemed to be razor sharp (but I am still compelled to sharpen when processing), at least when I was holding things steady they were razor-sharp.  It is an easy camera to hold and use and sometimes, when I’m a bit unsteady (squatting for a ground shot or standing in a precarious position), I take several quick shots and for all images at least one has been very sharp.

02

Wild Flower, Fall Color
Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70 mirrorless lens, 1/4000 at f/4, ISO 400, shot at 70mm. I wanted to see what the bokeh background would look like at f/4 and I am happy with the end result.
Click for an enlargement

 

I even shot a hand-held series of images to create a panorama in Lightroom and that image, too, was tack-sharp.  Since sharpness was what had drawn me to the camera initially I am, at this point, very happy with the camera and the images it has produced.  I have not yet printed anything so cannot comment on that but I expect the printed images to turn out well.

I am not a “techie” in the sense of setting things up and measuring and doing the math so I cannot comment from a truly technical perspective nor am I trying to.  I generally measure more from a “seat of the pants” kind of sense and on how things actually look when finished and, from my perspective, I like how the camera and lens have performed.  I did try my Nikon 24-120 using the adapter on the Z7 and the adapter was easy to use, similar to using a teleconverter, and the lens performed well on the camera.

03

High Country Lake
Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-120 with adapter, 1/320 at f/11, ISO 400, shot at 46mm.
Click for an enlargement

 

One of the fun things I’ve tried with the camera is taking some shots of bees that were on a plant in my driveway, using the 24-70 lens, and then upsizing the best shots using Lightroom.  I wanted to see how sharp the images would be when upsized.  This camera is not a wildlife camera but it performed well with the bees and I was able to capture a few in flight.  I got the Z7 to replace my D800 camera that I had used for still-life and landscape scenes and I did not and do not expect it to replace my very fast D500 that I have long lenses for in order to photograph wildlife.  

I have, however, put the Nikon 80-400 on the Z7 to photograph a fire scene taking place in the hills a distance from my home, which was fairly far away, and that combination worked out very well.  The bee shots turned out fairly well, too, and I was happy with the camera and what it did with the images.  I use the Transform tool in Lightroom to upsize images and this tool has been great for wildlife and other shots where I could not get quite as close as I wanted to.  I do also crop but I try, in general, to keep cropping to a minimum. 

04

Honey Bee
Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70 lens for mirrorless, 1/500 at f/4, ISO 800, shot at 70mm.
Click for an enlargement

 

The camera has performed well at a somewhat higher ISO, too, where I recently shot pumpkins grouped together under a doorway entrance using ISO 800. The noise was not an issue for the pumpkin shots but I have not tried anything more than ISO 3200, where the image was taken in the early morning and it was a shaded, busy landscape scene, and that worked out fine, too.  

05

The Pumpkin Patch
Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70 lens for mirrorless, 1/500 at f/4, ISO 800, shot at 70mm.
Click for an enlargement

 

It is amazing how slow the shutter speed can be and the camera still takes a sharp hand-held shot.  The image of the wine corks is a good example of this.  I pointed the camera down into a large glass bowl to get the shot of the wine corks.  The ISO was already at 1250 and I did not want to go higher so I shot at the shutter speed set by the camera, which was only 1/6 of a second.  I don’t think I could have done this with my D800 or my D500. 

06

Wine Corks
Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70 lens for mirrorless, 1/6 at f/8, ISO 1250, shot at 59mm.
Click for an enlargement

 

One of the things that I like best about the camera is that when using the viewfinder I can use all 493 focus points to select a point of focus, unlike my dSLR which limits me to a certain area when I’m using the viewfinder (I am aware that I have a greater choice when using Live View).  I have found that the large file size of the maximum images does bog down my computer to some degree and is especially hard on my laptop.  

Recently, I’ve been using the 25MP RAW size (technically called “medium”) and that size does not impede computer speed or the software’s ability to import or process.  The medium size RAW FX image is 6,192 pixels by 4,128 pixels which equates to a printed image, 1:1 at 300 ppi, of about 20” x 14” and that works fine for how I print images, which is usually no larger than 10” x 15” for a 16” x 20” frame.   The larger RAW size file is 45MP.  

I’ll have to play around some more with the image size options and also many other options. While, as a long-time Nikon camera user, I could pick up the camera and simply start shooting without reading the manual, the settings do differ to some degree.  I still need to read the manual, however, and have not done so yet but I’m still using the camera without any problem.  Reading the manual is at the top of my To-Do list before my trip to Cuba in December so I can learn about street photography using my new Z7. 

If you are thinking about switching to a mirrorless camera or, like me, replacing one of your Nikon dSLR cameras with a new mirrorless version, I think you will enjoy getting to know one of the two new Nikon mirrorless cameras.  My Z7 has been a joy to use and I’m looking forward to learning it in more depth.  

(26 Votes )

Originally written on November 14, 2018

Last updated on December 22, 2020

10 comments

Lisa Sohngen (Swampgirl) on September 3, 2020

Connie..great article about the Z7. I am contemplating buying a Z7 or Z6. I photograph wildlife (many at the swamp in Florida) and I like to enlarge sometimes to a 20 x 30 canvas. I'm not sure which Z camera to buy. Do you have any suggestions? I presently own a D500 which is very nice. BTW, I am impressed by your images! Thanks. Swampgirl.

Jeff Hansman (Martinplayer) on February 9, 2019

Great article, Connie. Thanks for sharing your initial experience with the Z7. I have the Z6 with the 24-70mm lens and the FTZ converter sitting in my Nikon store cart, and your article has inched me closer to hitting the "Buy' button. I reckon it's high time to make the jump to full frame, and going mirrorless will complete this adventure.

Jacob Lewis (Jacob47) on December 23, 2018

Just read your Z7 article, well done. Is there anything you feel needs to be improved? By the way, like the bandit look. Jacob

John Barclay (jbarc49) on November 23, 2018

I recently bought the Z7 body with the adaptor for my Nikon lenses and am very happy with the results and the smaller lighter body. I previously used the D750. Just completed a road trip to Utah exploring Canyonland and Arches National Parks. No matter what the light conditions were, the photos were sharp. I didn't need my tripod too much and found that higher ISO's did not cause any noise. I am interested to hear of other's experience with the f/4 24-70 lens which I am considering.

John Hernlund (Tokyo_John) on November 23, 2018

Thanks for the report. After reading, I'm curious to know why/how the mirrorless cameras are sharper and have better color than DSLRs?

Connie Cassinetto (Via the Lens) on November 20, 2018

Ribbon awarded for her valuable contributions to the Articles Section.

Hazim, I've heard from others that the camera can be made to feel much larger if you buy the add-on battery grip. This might be an option for you.

Hazim Aldujaili (Haz65) on November 20, 2018

I am a big guy so because of that I feel not comfortable with the small camera size .. I still needs to feel the camera as a part of my body .. May be this is unfortunately .. The Z7 and z6 came just to follow the mirrorless races much Nikon could be and got unsruprised in the photography market .

User on November 19, 2018

Thanks Connie. I'm sitting awaiting a phone call from my local camera store to advise my Pre-Ordered Z6 is ready for collection today. I think I among the first in the UK to get the Z6. Very exciting! I am also replacing my D800 with the Z6 and am really encouraged by your experience with the Z7. Regards, F

Connie Cassinetto (Via the Lens) on November 19, 2018

Ribbon awarded for her valuable contributions to the Articles Section.

I just shot with mine in a church in Carmel and I hit something and now I can see all of my menus through the viewfinder, which is very different than my dSLR camera. I'm still trying to figure out how to work this issue out! At the same time, whatever I hit, I now cannot look at my photos on the viewfinder screen. Fun with a new camera!! I'll get it worked out I'm sure. Got some nice shots at Point Lobos State Beach at Weston Beach with low tide. Shots are very colorful and it was nice not to have to use my tripod.

Kent Lewis (nkcllewis) on November 14, 2018

Ribbon awarded for his generous support to the Fundraising Campaign 2017

Connie, thanks. I just bought a Z7 and having the same kind of fun you are having. Thanks for the write-up. Kent in VA

G